1. Surrender, O oft-turning away!
And let my hopes make you quake with parting.

2. I'm weary of passion and ply my mornings
To the veiled, emancipated, aloof.

3. The nights have led me to dignity
Abundant in noble traits.

4. Though the new moon journeys swiftest
It is the unhappiest of stars in conjunction.

5. If the stars justly gained their places,
I would gain these stars in merit!

6. Is not my tongue more piercing
Than the swords of the well-honed blades?

7. My hand bears fingers that for me
Are reed-pens unsated with fluid.

8. Serpents from which enemies recoil,
A snake from which the watcher takes refuge.

9. A lightning-bolt that destroys the foe in punishment
And feathers the ally in victory.

10. You see it bountiful wherever
That venom flows in rivulets.

11. Lines I inscribed in a book
Like the patter of raindrops.

12. From it I fashioned eloquence
By reinventing tropes, not coining words.

13. Rhymes like necklaces of pearls
Strung and placed around necks.

14. Delights that leave hearing bewildered
When they hear them recited.

15. Understanding is baffled by their delicacy
When it wanders among the subtle meanings.

16. My boon companions journeying with my remembrance
Which my yearnings have sent roaming the horizons.

17. Whenever cares afflict me my opinion
Flashes like lightning in the dark.

18. And when I wish, my words are sweeter
Than the talk of singers or lovers.

19. The oath of she who is bedecked and the grace of a coquette,
A lion in battles who never wavers.

20. My mornings are spent acting and forbidding
And snatching pleasure from the evening breeze.

21. Dignified without shaming the cupbearer,
Or rebuking she who pours the drinks.

22. I quaff the wine-cup if I drink, and serve it
Overflowing to my comrades and others too.

23. I ready myself to hunt the choicest
Of noble stocks and flawless pedigree.

24. Beauties concealed as if horses tucked away
Each day, their bodies readied for the race.

25. Gazelles of youth adorned in the dress
Tailored by the Exalted Craftsman.

26. Describing the white and the eyelids when
They unveil tongues from between the lips.

27. As if the full moons when they see them
Recoil in caution and submission.

28. You see her gather what saddens her
In an embrace, drawing her beloved close.

29. In barrenness we thrive on her
Like a meadow thriving in the first rains.

30. My refusal, when I turn from the hunt
To the music, or chess, or backgammon,

31. Is with boon friends who seem created
For harmony and solidarity.

32. This, along with my keeping true
To the loyal, honoring pacts.

33. I strive to please them, wherever
Harm has touched them, there touches my care.

34. Such are our morals, and we are a people
Concerned with the noblest of traits.